CSI: Konoha
by Black Peregrin
Summary: Now graduated from Ninja Academy, Shikamaru leads a CSI team that includes Kiba, Sakura, and other characters.  Between two heinous abductors, a person who makes copies of artwork from human bodies, and other such villains, they'll have their hands full.
1. Pilot

**CSI: Konoha**

**Pilot**

Iruka-sensei rubbed his eyes. It had been a long day. He was grading papers in the Academy late at night. It was already 10:20, and he was only half way through the stack of tests.  
Oh well. They can wait until tomorrow. Sleep comes first.  
Iruka stood up, gathering his supplies and the last of his strength.  
Then he paused. Was it just him, or did he hear something fall down?  
He shrugged. Probably was one of the Academy students setting up a prank. Konohamaru, most likely.  
Iruka dismissed it, walked out the door, took out his keys, and locked it up for the night.

---

The crime scene looked bad. Nara Shikamaru stood in the room and, slapping on his plastic gloves, took a look around.  
Spotting Iruka lying on the floor, he grimaced.  
His old teacher lay on the floor. 5 senbon were pierced into his skin. One through each palm, one through each lung, and one through the stomach. Those needles looked like they might've done some serious damage.  
As he looked away, he spotted medics coming in with their kits and a stretcher. He asked them if Iruka would be all right. They replied yes, but they still didn't know the extent of the damage.  
Then something caught his eye.  
His 200 IQ brain registered two things at once.  
First off, he spotted a scorch mark on the left arm of Iruka.  
Second, dirt on the floor.  
Something didn't add up.  
And he wanted to make it so that it did.  
"Kiba!" he ordered into his phone, "come over here. And bring Akamaru. I need you to do a sweep off the crime scene. Something isn't right here."

Shikamaru sat in a chair in the hospital room of Iruka. His head lay in his hands as he looked up at Haruno Sakura, the ninja who was called to heal and inspect Iruka. She carefully removed the senbon from Iruka's body, then transfered chakra to his body so that he'd stay alive.  
"I'm just making him so that he doesn't die on us. No physical evidence will be removed," she reassured Shikamaru.  
He thanked her, and exited the room.

---

Back at the lab, Marakuni Rukia was at work. She was working at two computers at once, typing furiously, then suddenly lept up to grab a paper that just printed. She waved them in front of Shikamaru's nose.  
"Lab results?" he asked excitedly.  
"No," she replied. "Those are still pending. But I thought the way the senbon were pierced into Iruka was a bit suspicious. Am I right?"  
Shikamaru thought for a moment, then agreed.  
"So I did a cross-search on our database, looking rogue or criminal ninjas that have killed or injured people with a signature. . And then I searched through those results with keywords that related to the pattern we saw with Iruka."  
"Well?" impatiently questioned Shikamaru.  
She handed him the papers.  
"Tayuya Yaro," he read. "Killed 13 citizens and 5 ninja total. All killed with personal signature of one senbon through each palm, one through each lung, and one through the stomach. Given death penalty."  
Shikamaru swore under his breath.  
"Yeah, I know. A bit of a disappointment," Rukia confessed.  
"Either Yaro has risen from the dead, or someone is trying to give us a red herring," concluded Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was tired. It had been a long day.  
As he walked home, the wind blowing his ponytail around like a flag.  
The case just didn't add up. How could Yaro still be alive? It just wasn't possible.  
He placed his key in the lock for his apartment. Pushing it open, he inhaled the smell of burnt pancakes.  
Shikamaru smiled. He hung up his coat.  
Walking into the kitchen, he spotted Temari, his wife, slaving over a skillet full of pancake batter.  
Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek, then jumped on the couch and turned on the news.  
He was ready for a relaxing night.  
_Breaking story!_ said the news anchor. _A large forest fire breaks out in the Land of Tea. Authorities are still trying to contain the blazes. More on this story later. In other news, Konoha releases its new bingo book of S-Rank criminals..._  
But Shikamaru wasn't listening.  
He sat up and thought about what he had just heard.  
A fire.  
Hadn't he seen a burn mark on Iruka's arm?  
Shikamaru grabbed his coat, apologized to Temari, and rushed out the door.  
He remembered that someone somewhere, probably in school, had said that some jutsus leave traces of DNA on what they touch.  
Fire-style techniques, most of which came from breathing fire or whatnot, fit into that category.  
He was back on track.

"Check the burn!" Shikamaru gasped, out of breath, as he burst through the hospital room doors.  
Sakura looked up, confused.  
"The burn! On Iruka's arm! I think it's a result of a fire-style technique, like phoenix flower jutsu or something!" he told her.  
"And it may have DNA on it!" Sakura concluded excitedly.  
She immediately reached into her medical kit, picked out a swab, and ran it over Iruka's wound.  
Iruka grimaced, but said nothing.  
She took out a bag and placed the swab inside it. Handing it to Shikamaru, she said, "Well, we'll know who burned him soon enough."

---

Shikamaru walked with Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru to a residence on the outskirts of town.  
Rukia had traced the DNA to a man named Tsarumi Takasaru.  
His house loomed in front of them. It was a small, worn-down place. A cat ran in front of them. Akamaru, as much a dog as ever, lept from Kiba's arms and barked at it.  
Shikamaru stepped up to the door and rang the bell. Nobody answered.  
He looked inside. The house was deserted.  
Then suddenly he spotted a shape running on the side of the house.  
And he didn't look like he was taking a leisurely jog through the neighborhood.  
"Kiba!" Shikamaru shouted.  
"Already on it!" Kiba replied, grabbing a kunai in his hand and sprinting after the man.  
Shikamaru followed.  
"Arf!" barked Akamaru as he leaped up and bit the escaping suspect on the arm, dragging him to the ground.  
"Good boy!" Kiba yelled.  
The man scrambled on to his feet, threw Akamaru on to the ground, but stopped in place.  
He looked down.  
His shadow was being touched by another.  
Shikamaru smiled. His Kagemane no Jutsu, Shadow Copy Technique, was a success.  
Kiba held up his police badge.  
"Mr. Tsarumi, you're under arrest under the charges of breaking and entering, attempted first degree murder, and fleeing the authorities."

Shikamaru stepped into the interrogation room. A guard stepped in behind him, just in case things got messy.  
"You know, Mr. Tsurami, running away just made you look even more guilty," said Shikamaru.  
Takasaru said nothing.  
Impatient, Shikamaru continued. "You do know the charges that are piled up against you? Breaking and entering, attempting first-degree murder, and most recently fleeing the authorities. That's a large load of crap you've gotten yourself into."  
"Well, I don't intend to stay in it very long," replied Takasaru with a grin.  
"I somewhat doubt tha..." Shikamaru began, but he was interrupted.  
The guard had snuck up on him and hit him on the head with the pummel of a kunai.  
Shikamaru slumped to the ground, unconcious.  
The guard smiled at Takasaru, then courtly opened the door for him.

---

Shikamaru woke up two and a half hours later.  
He groaned, realizing where he was.  
He was lying in a hospital bed, next to Iruka.  
"Hey CSI guy," Iruka said with a grin.  
Shikamaru tried to sit up, but the nurse on duty, seeing what he was trying to do, forced him to lie back down.  
"I wouldn't try that if I were you," she warned.  
Shikamaru groaned again.  
How troublesome!  
He noticed Sakura trying to sneak into the room quietly.  
It didn't work. She tripped over the door stop and fell to the floor noisely.  
Shikamaru grinned, then told her, "You know, I'm not asleep anymore. And even if I was, that sure as hell would've woken me up."  
Sakura smiled, but then it faded to a frown.  
Noticing that, Shikamaru asked, concerned, "What is it? Is there something you want to tell me?"  
"Uh... well..." she began.  
Shikamaru started to worry.  
"The two men who knocked you unconscious, Takasaru and Lyuna Naoru, the guard, have disappeared. We can't find them."  
He groaned loudly, partly because he was annoyed the people who tricked him got away, but mostly because his head still hurt.  
"And... Temari's vanished. We think they took her hostage."

Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakura were scanning the village, looking for Takasaru and Naoru.  
But so far, no dice.  
They stopped, panting, at a Ramen shop.  
Not to their surprise, they spotted Naruto there.  
Kiba sat down at the spot next to him.  
"Hey, what's up?"  
Naruto just sat there.  
Sakura sat down on the other side of Naruto.  
And what she saw frightened her.  
Naruto was sitting in front of a cold bowl of ramen. He hadn't touched it. Instead he was sipping a cup of sake.  
And he was unusually quiet.  
Kiba and Sakura exchanged worried glances.  
"Naruto, you seem worried. What's wrong?"  
He glanced over at them, and a tear fell from his eye.  
"It's Hinata... she's... she's..."  
Kiba and Sakura finished his sentence.  
"Missing!"  
He looked up.  
"How'd you know?"  
"Temari's gone missing also. We believe she's been kidnapped. Whoever took her may have kidnapped Hinata also."  
Naruto sniffed, sipped his sake, then looked at Sakura.  
"Please, please, make sure that Hinata is safe."  
She put her hand on his shoulder, as to say everything was going to be all right.  
Then, ordering a bowl of spicy pork ramen to go, they exited the shop.  
"Poor Naruto. And poor Shikamaru. They both lost their loved ones. What a blow," Sakura remarked.  
"Yes, but shouldn't we be more worried for Temari and Hinata? Wherever they are..." Kiba replied sadly.

"Oh dear," remarked Hokage Tsunade as she listened to the sand Jounin.  
"... and we can't find them anywhere," finished the ninja.  
She thought for a minute. That's 5 people total missing from two villages.  
That's 5 people too many.  
"Zaku!" she called.  
"Yes Hokage?" Zaku asked, appearing next to her in a poof of smoke.  
"Go retrieve Nara Shikamaru from the hospital. I need him now," she ordered.  
"But I thought he was injured?" he asked, puzzled.  
"No, he's fine. He's just too lazy and depressed to get off his butt."  
"Okay!" said Zaku as he vanished in another poof of smoke.

---

Shikamaru was bored.  
He lay on his hospital bed with one eye open, reading _Advanced Shougi Techniques_.  
He already knew everything in the book.  
His thoughts were instead on Temari and the other missing ninja of Suna and Konoha.  
But his thoughts were interrupted by Zaku walking into the door.  
"Let's go. Hokage Tsunade requests your presence."  
Shikamaru sighed. How troublesome.  
"Fine. Just let me get out of this damn hospital gown."

---

Temari wasn't scared. She had a strong mind and an even stronger body.  
Even still, the prospect of being kidnapped was slowly getting to her.  
She hadn't seen the light of day for who knows how long it's been!  
And Hinata was starting to get sick.  
She had a fever, and started coughing blood a few hours ago.  
_Oh Shikamaru, where are you?_ Temari thought.

Shikamaru paced up and down the Hokage's study.  
She frowned and coughed.  
He looked up at her, annoyed.  
"Yes?" he asked.  
"Well... do you have any ideas for what we should do?" she asked him.  
"You're the Hokage. I should be asking you," he said.  
Tsunade laughed. "You're the one who said that you want to lead the team to find the missing people. Or is it too troublesome?"  
He considered this, then shook his head.. "I'm not going to stand by while those creeps do who-knows-what to Temari, Hinata, and the others."  
"So what's the plan then?"  
"Well, get the ANBU Black ops stationed around the village. Tell them to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity, and make sure they contact us if they see anything."  
She nodded. "Got it."  
"By the way, do you think it's a coincidence that there were disappearences in Suna also?"  
Shikamaru frowned.  
"I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in conspiracy."

Temari was worried now.  
Hinata was even worse off then before. She was coughing up blood regularly, and her breathing was irregular.  
And those Suna ninja didn't look all that great either.  
She looked up at the mysterious figures who were keeping them locked up.  
They each had a silver mask on, and were currently placing scrolls in different corners of the room.  
"What's that for?" she asked, curious.  
The smaller guy looked up.  
"Moving. We're going away. Wouldn't want those pesky ninja to find us."  
The other one suddenly stopped.  
"They're getting closer. I sense great amounts of chakra energy."  
"Then we better do this quickly, eh?" replied the smaller one.

---

The dirt!  
It was so obvious now.  
Shikamaru had seen dirt on the ground at the crime scene.  
And there was only one place in the near area where that kind of dirt could be found.  
The mountain with the Hokage carvings in it.

---

The smaller guy made several hand signs.  
He took a scroll out of his pocket, opened it up, cut his hand, and made a mark with the blood.  
Pressing it on to the ground, he cried,  
"Spirit Transfer! Teleportation jutsu!"

---

By the time Shikamaru and his team of ninja arrived, all traces of the rogue ninjas and their captives had vanished.  
Literally, into thin air.

"Dammit!" Shikamaru yelled, as they arrived at the top of the mountain.  
No one, nothing, not even a scrap of hair or even a drop of sweat or blood was present.  
Temari was once again gone from his sight, from his grasp.  
Shikamaru swore again.  
Sakura patted him on the back, but he shook off her touch.  
He took off, heading for his apartment.

---

Two days had passed, and still nobody had seen or heard anything from or about the missing ninja or their abductors.  
Patrols had been set up so that the city was defended in case the rogue ninjas returned for another victim.  
The whole city was on a curfew, and there were at least a dozen ninjas situated around the village at one time, for protection.  
Kiba was now heading a patrol around the city's surrounding forest, looking for clues that could lead them to Temari, Hinata, and the others.  
Akamaru stopped on a branch protruding from a rather large oak tree.  
He looked around, sniffed, and barked twice.  
Kiba immediately came to a halt, stopping the rest of the patrol.  
Akamaru changed his direction to south by south east. Kiba and the rest followed.  
Akamaru led them to a very tall and old tree in the middle of a grove of violets.  
And pinned to the tree was Natarumi Tala, one of the abducted Suna ninjas.  
She was pinned to the tree with one senbon needle through each hand, one through each lung, and one through her stomach.  
Just like Iruka.

Tala was breathing, but just barely.  
The senbon had been taken out and brought to the crime lab for examination.  
She had gone through a lot, and she deserved some rest.  
Sakura watched the rise and fall of Tala's chest as she applied ointment to the wounds.  
_Sleep well_, Sakura thought as she turned to walk out the hospital room door.

---

Back at the crime lab, Rukia was scrutinizing the senbon under a microscope.  
Shikamaru walked into the room, licking his fingers of orange dust from the Cheeto's he was just eating.  
"Hey! Keep your snack dust away from the evidence!" she shouted at him.  
He looked up, smiled, pulled out a napkin, and wiped his hands.  
Crumpling the napkin into a ball, he shot it at the garbage can, and reached for a pair of plastic gloves.  
"So..." he began, serious now, "what's new? Find anything of interest?"  
She scowled. "No. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch..."  
"I get the point."  
"I checked the senbon. Not a single fingerprint. All the blood on it is Tala's. I also scanned her clothes. Nothing there either."  
"Hmm..." said Shikamaru. "Well, either our enemy is extremely smart and careful, or they're real neat freaks."

The place at which the captors and captured were currently hiding out in was no better than the last.  
_At least it's no worse_, thought Temari.  
Now she was sick with something, perhaps the flu.  
Nothing serious, but still bad enough to suck the energy out of her.  
And the others... they were all shocked by what Takasaru and Naoru had done to the poor Suna girl.  
And one of them could be next...

---

Two days later, still no traces of the missing ninja had been found.  
Until now.  
Shikamaru couldn't remember what woke him up first, the sirens or the pounding on his door.  
"Wha 'tis it?" he asked groggily, opening the door to find Kiba standing there.  
"The... the memorial... Hinata... injured... just like the others..." he huffed.  
Shikamaru was already out of the door, slipping on his leather jacket.

---

Hinata lay in the ambulance, surrounded by medical ninja and equipment.  
She was badly wounded and seriously ill.  
Naruto hadn't left her side since they found her, and he was trying to do all he could to help.  
Shikamaru touched ground next to Hokage Tsunade.  
"What happened here?"  
"Two ANBU ninja patrolling the city found her lying on the ground, same wounds as Iruka and the Suna girl."  
Shikamaru swore, not attempting to hide his annoyance.  
"Whatever these guys, Takasaru and Naoru, are planning to do, they're pissing me off. Real bad."

Hinata would be all right.  
The medics would be sure of that.  
She was now sleeping in a bed in the hospital, next to the other victim, the Suna girl.  
Naruto stayed at her side, day and night.  
But luckily, Shikamaru was able to convince him to go out to Ichiraku Ramen with him, Sakura, and Kiba.  
"So, what do propose we do?" asked Naruto through a mouthful of noodles.  
"Well, we know that they're on the move, but lightening up the load every once in a while," Sakura offered.  
"Every two days, to be exact," Kiba chimed in.  
"So, we have to be alert and aware. Make sure we have ninjas patrolling around the city, looking for anything suspicious. If and when they strike again, tomorrow most likely the time. Just assume the worst."  
And the worst did come.  
During the following six days, two more Suna ninja were found in various places around the village, with the same signature senbon wounds as the others.  
They were placed in the hospital next to Hinata and Tala.  
Yuaka Nao and Buwara Juni were their names.  
Tsunade had planned to question them about what had happened to them, but that night all of them flat-lined.  
The nurses ran to help them, and succeeded in saving them from dying, but it still put them in a coma.  
It had been three days.  
And it didn't look like they were coming out any time soon.

It was if she was lost again.  
Only now, she was lost in herself.  
Naruto stayed by Hinata's bed every day and night, with not a single break now.  
Sakura and Kiba had to take turns bringing him food and drink.  
And even then, it would take a good amount of persuading to get him to take some of it.  
Shikamaru was no better.  
It seemed he'd given up all hopes of saving Temari.  
He lay on his bench up on top of the ninja school, staring at the clouds like he always used to do.  
... always used to do with Temari...  
No day passed when he didn't think of her.  
And those damn rogues who kidnapped her.  
She would be next.  
The next victim.  
The next in the hospital.  
It was all too much for Shikamaru.  
He sat up and walked back to his apartment.

Shikamaru slowly walked over to the filing cabinets.  
He held a folder named "Case of the Five-Point Abductions".  
He reached over to open the filing cabinets marked "Unsolved Cases".  
This would be the first case in the cabinet.  
As he moved to put away the folder, a tear fell from his eye.  
It fell, a glistening pearl of despair, on to a paper hanging out of the folder.  
Shikamaru wiped away his tears and took out the paper.  
It was a map of Konoha, with markings of where all the recovered ninja had been discovered.  
He stopped.  
Something seemed unusual about it... but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was.

---

Temari could barely breathe.  
With her mouth filled with the gag, she couldn't get oxygen to her brain.  
She thought of Shikamaru.  
And his baby... that she was going to have...  
That was the last thought she had before she slipped into labor...

---

Shikamaru, Kiba, Sakura, and five ANBU Black Op special forces ninja dashed towards downtown Konoha.  
It all became too clear.  
There were five abductions and assaults, all of who were placed and discovered at five different points around Konoha.  
Iruka, Hinata, Tala, Nao, and Juni.  
And they were found with five senbon wounds, placed in a circle on their body.  
And all the recoveries were in or around Konoha, _placed in a circle_.  
At the center of the senbon was the heart.  
And at the center of Konoha was the heart, the Hokage's tower.  
Five Hokage had ever lived there.  
Five.  
The same number as the senbon, the same number as the abductions.  
Coincidence?  
No, conspiracy.  
The ninja ran on, towards the heart of Konoha.

---

Temari was now going into labor.  
Her breathes were fast and hard.  
The pain was excruciating.  
It was like a thousand needles were piercing her skin.  
But worse.  
She had never felt anything like it.  
And she never would again.

---

They found her, in the storage room.  
She was lying on the ground, bleeding, and breathing heavily.  
And she was in labor.  
Shikamaru started panicking, but managed to calm himself down.  
"Get me paramedics! Now! She's going into labor, and she's injured and starved! I need medical ninja, an ambulance, and we need to deliver this baby! Get her to the hospital ASAP!"  
Nobody dared waste a single moment.

---

Shikamaru sat on a bench in the waiting room for the ER.  
He stared down at his feet, his face emotionless.  
A door swung open.  
He looked up.  
"How... Temari... what happened?"  
"I'm... so sorry... we lost her..."  
Shikamaru had guessed as much.  
She had been through so much...  
He was proud of her, nevertheless.  
And he would make sure that the ninja who did this to her would pay.  
With their lives.  
But there were other unsolved matters.  
"And... and... the baby?"  
She smiled.  
"Congratulations, it's a girl."  
A tear fell from Shikamaru's eye.  
As it hit the ground, breaking into a thousand glistening droplets, another person came into the room.  
It was Sakura, holding a bundle.  
She smiled at him, a tear in her eye as well.  
Shikamaru stood up, and walked over to her.  
Taking the bundle his arms, he looked down at the face smiling up at him.  
She had Temari's eyes.


	2. Episode Two: The Surrealist

**CSI: Konoha**

**Case of the Surrealist**

Shikamaru stood in the rain among the crowds, all dressed in black, heads bowed under umbrellas.

Glancing up at the large stone at the head of the crowd, he read the name carved into the rock for the hundredth time that day.

Nara Temari.

Wife, Sister, Mother, Beloved Friend, and Loyal Ninja.

A tear formed in his eye, and it fell on top of the head of a now-sleeping baby.

His baby.

Komadori, or Robyn.

Somehow, it fit her.

She had curly blonde hair, a smooth face, and the most infectious laugh.

Her eyes were green like her mother's, and Shikamaru could already tell that she would have an attitude like his.

Suddenly, Shikamaru felt a vibration on his hip.

He looked down.

It was his pager.

Picking it up, he glanced at the small letters running across the screen:

NEW CASE MRDRD CVLN CNT FGRE OUT COME ASAP CRME LB

Meeting eyes with Kiba and Sakura, they nodded.

He snuck over to where Naruto and Hinata were standing, whispered something in their ears, and then carefully gave Komadori to them.

---

When Shikamaru and his team arrived at the scene, they found cops and medics swarming around the room.

And then they spotted the victim.

Hey lay on a giant canvas, splattered with paint.

No obvious patterns were present on that canvas; it was merely a battlefield of bright colors.

Shaking his head, Shikamaru glanced around the room.

It was a normal garage- tools lined the walls, a bike rack stood in a corner.

Nothing unusual, except for the giant canvas and dead man point blank in the middle of it all.

"Ayuda Zloto, critic for _Konoha Flair_ magazine," Kiba identified him as, holding up a wallet and a business card.

"Revenge maybe?" Sakura suggested. "Someone could've gotten reviewed by Mr. Ayuda, but didn't like his critique of them. So they killed him."

"Perhaps…" Shikamaru replied, now examining the body.

"Isn't this weird? The poor man's been completely painted over from head to toe," he observed.

Suddenly, Shikamaru' eyes grew narrow and he pulled out a swab.

Running it under the man's left index fingernail, he explained,

"Look at the red substance under his fingernail. It's darker and thinner than the red paint, which also has air bubbles."

Taking out a small vial of liquid, Shikamaru poured a drop on to the swab. The substance turned blue.

"We've got ourselves some blood. Our killer missed a spot."

"Everyone's a critic," replied Sakura with a smile.

---

Walking through the halls of the CSI office, Shikamaru felt in his element once again.  
"Sakura, bring that blood swab to Rukia. I want a computer scan done on it; see if we can find a match."  
"Kiba, gather a squad of maybe two others, bring cameras, and do a sweep of the house. We might be able to find some more clues."  
"Got it!" the two said in unison.

---

"Anything yet?" Shikamaru asked, walking into the morgue.  
"Well... "began Myco Hemoda, the man in charge of examining all the dead bodies.  
Shikamaru shivered. Not his kind of job. Important, but a little bit creepy.  
"No signs of blunt force trauma; no stab or cut wounds. Not even a single trace of poison."  
Considering this, Shikamaru began pacing around.  
"So what's left? Suffocation? Did you check the..."  
Hemoda sighed.  
"Yes, I checked the lungs for any traces of carbon dioxide; none. I swabbed around the neck, and found no fingerprints. However, I did notice a faint blue line on the neck, running across the Adam's apple."  
Shikamaru looked up.  
"That sounds like my Shadow Neck Bind jutsu. Which means..."  
Hemoda finished his sentence. "The murderer is either someone in the Nara clan, or someone with the Sharingan."

--

Shikamaru just couldn't believe it.  
Someone from the Nara clan, _his_ clan, his family, could've done it.  
Or someone with the Sharingan, and that narrowed down to three people: Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, and Hatake Kakashi.  
Not the kind of guys you want to mess with.  
"But, can you clear my name?"  
"Of course. I've dated the time of death at around 10:30 this morning."  
"And I was at the funeral! And there are only about 150 eye witnesses to prove that also! Thanks Hemoda! You're great!"  
He shrugged.  
"That's what I'm paid for."

---

Kiba struggled with a dumpster lid outside of Zloto's house.  
"Care to help guys?" he asked angrily, to the two other cops that were supposed to be assisting him.  
They shook their heads.  
"Nah, you're doing fine."  
Kiba glared at them angrily, mentally giving them each a demerit.  
He whistled.  
Barking, Akamaru leapt up from the ground, biting the lid and swinging it back.  
Kiba grunted, pleased.  
Taking a flashlight, he scanned the insides of the dumpster.  
"Aha!" he cried out.  
Curious, the two cops came over to the dumpster and looked in, and immediately regretted it.  
Inside was a white haired, deformed boy, lying dead on the floor.  
Motioning to the two cops, Kiba picked up the boy from inside the dumpster and placed him on the ground.  
Grimacing, he took a look at the kid.  
His whole body was deformed, but not naturally.  
His body parts had been cut off and replaced in weird places, like some creepy Picasso portrait.  
"Someone had a little fun with our victim," Kiba observed.  
Then he observed one last detail.  
The boy had the Sharingan wheel in his right eye.

---

Kakashi stood over the deformed body of the boy.  
The lights of the morgue shined down on his face, throwing shadows around and adding an eerie feeling to the already-creepy room.  
A tear fell from Kakashi's eye on to the cold table on which the body had been set down.  
He rarely cried, but this was a time when you couldn't blame him.  
Hatake Raikorou read the label attached to the boy's body.  
Kakashi's own son.

--

Looking in through the glass, Shikamaru sighed.  
Another life taken.  
Another life wasted.  
Raikorou had been a good kid.  
Smart, strong, funny, and popular.  
He had inherited Kakashi's Sharingan eye, even though Kakashi had his own pinwheel eye surgically inserted.  
And what had happened to him...  
It was just too terrible for words.  
Shikamaru would make sure that the Surrealist would regret the day he picked up a paint brush.

But for now, Shikamaru had unsolved business.  
He took one last look through the glass at the two Hatake's, one alive and one dead, and walked away.

---

Hokage Tsunade and Naruto were talking in whispered voices when Shikamaru entered the hospital room.  
He took a look around, and then sat down with them.  
There were four patients in the room.  
Hyuuga Hinata, Yuaka Nao, Buwara Juni, and Natarumi Tala.  
The four victims of the case that had left the whole CSI team, as well as the rest of the village, with a heavy heart.  
And had resulted in four ninjas badly injured and in comas, and one ninja dead.  
The Case of the Five-Point Abductions.  
"So... how's it going with them?" asked Shikamaru, breaking the uncomfortable silence.  
"They're all stable, no problems. All wounds have healed..." said Naruto.  
"And..." Tsunade told him, "We believe there is a way to wake them up."

--

Shikamaru did a double take.  
"Wake them up? But... but how?"  
Tsunade explained.  
"There's a special medical procedure that can be used to give an extra bit of energy to a person, or in our case, wake them up from a coma."  
"A chakra transplant," continued Naruto. "We need one person for each patient. We'll take the person's chakra and insert it directly into the patient's heart, giving them a jump start and hopefully waking them up."  
"There are of course risks," Tsunade chimed in. "As with any other transplant, this procedure must be executed with great caution."  
Shikamaru considered this.  
"Sounds like a plan. I say we go ahead with it. Do we have donors?"  
"Yes, of course. Naruto has volunteered for Hinata, and we have two ninja coming from Suna to transplant for Nao and Juni. Nao's brother and Juni's husband, I believe. But Tala hasn't had anyone volunteer for her. That may prove a problem."  
"I'll do it," Shikamaru offered.  
He had begun to feel an attachment to the four victims. As if they were his responsibility.  
It was the least he could do.  
Tsunade nodded.  
"Thanks. We'll begin the operation right after you finish this murder case."  
"Go get 'em, bud!" Naruto told him.  
Shikamaru smiled, and then walked out of the room.

---

Kiba and Sakura were scanning the inside and outside of the dumpster for any clues.  
Brushing the whole dumpster with a special dust, they looked around.  
"Hey, look at this!" Kiba exclaimed, coughing.  
Ironically, Kiba was allergic to dust.  
Scrutinizing the place Kiba was pointing to, Sakura found what it was.  
An entire hand print was on the wall of the dumpster.  
"You know, I think our murderer is a bit careless," she noted.  
Kiba grunted, then coughed.  
"Let's just get this hand print so we can get out of this dump."  
Sakura nodded, and then reached into her pack for supplies.

---

Later that afternoon, Rukia was busy running tests when Shikamaru walked in.  
Not even glancing up at him, she threw some stapled papers at his feet.  
Picking them up, Shikamaru glared at her.  
He waved them in the air.  
She swiveled around in her chair and apologized.  
"Sorry, I had to finish up one more test. It should be printing out right about... now."  
Humming, the printer shot out another four papers, filled to the brim with data.  
"Let's see... can I have my other papers back?"  
Shikamaru gave them to her.  
"Ahh... I see. The blood from under the fingernails are a match for a Ms. Naburu Uyino. To back it up, I ran a fingerprint through the system. We found a match, and it's also Ms. Naburu. I did a bit of research. She lives down in Konoha's East Side."  
Shikamaru smiled. Things were looking up.  
"I think I'm going to need a warrant."

---

Ino strode into Central Park with a picnic basket and a smile on her face.  
Setting her stuff down on the side of a fountain, she looked around.  
No Chouji.  
They had planned to meet that afternoon.  
And he was late, as usual.  
Ino walked over to a man who was sitting on a bench a few yards away from the fountain.  
He sat, back arched, head on his fist.  
Just like that one sculpture... oh, what was it called?  
Oh, yeah, the Thinker.  
She smiled. The things you remember from your childhood.  
No real use in life, but they were fun.  
Ino went up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.  
"Excuse me mister, have you by any chance seen... eek!"  
The man fell over on to the ground.  
He was dead.

---

Shikamaru looked around at the small apartment in which Naburu Uyino lived.  
It was small, but cozy, and looked like it had been through a hurricane, tornado, and frat party, all at once.  
Uyino sat on the couch, giving her alibis to Kiba.  
So far, they had been checking out quite well.  
She had been away in the Land of Snow at an art exhibit.  
Peeking into one of the rooms, Shikamaru discovered a small studio, filled with paints and pencils and other art supplies.  
Walking around in it, he found a door leading off into an additional room.  
Inside were a bed, dressers, and a desk.  
But, unlike the rest of the apartment, it was perfectly clean.  
"If you mind me asking, whose exhibit was it?" Shikamaru said, returning to the living room.  
"Mine, I'm a resident artist. I usually do 3 dimensional figures, but sometimes I do paintings, and I've been working on some sketches for an upcoming sculpture."  
"May I ask what the extra room is for?"  
"Oh, that's my roommate, who is also my assistant. I'm training her to be an artist, but it's hard for her. I actually haven't seen her in about 3 days."  
"That's around the time when the first murder came around in this case," Kiba whispered to Shikamaru.  
He nodded.  
"Ms. Naburu, can you be kind enough to tell me what your assistant's name is?"  
"Pahu Laona."  
"Thank you very much. We appreciate it."  
Suddenly, Shikamaru's pager began buzzing.  
He picked it up.  
"INO REPORTED NEW MRDR- SREALST WE SUSPCT: CNTRL PRK, NEAR FNTAIN"  
Glancing at Kiba, he said, "We gotta go."  
Nodding, Kiba turned to Uyina.  
"Thanks for your time. We'll contact you if we get a lead, or find where your assistant is." And with that, they both ran out of the apartment.

---

Hemoda walked around the body of the latest victim.  
Slipping on plastic gloves, he picked up a scalpel and cut into the man's chest.  
Taking out the heart, Hemoda jotted down notes on a piece of paper.  
Now, Hemoda turned on a small flashlight and shone it into each eye.  
He took a piece of hair from the man's head and dropped it into a test tube.  
Finally, he took a bowl of ink, dipped the man's fingertips in it, and then pressed them onto a piece of paper.

---

Shikamaru sat at his desk in his office, surrounded by the rest of his team.  
Sakura and Rukia reclined on a leather couch.  
Kiba sat backwards on a chair, his arms hanging over the backrest.  
All of them had bags under their eyes; it had been a long day.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Hemoda strode into the room.  
He held a stack of papers in his hand.  
"Okay, now that we're all here, let's take a look at what we have," Shikamaru proposed.  
The rest of them nodded.  
"Well, our victim is a John Doe. I couldn't find any identification on him, and the fingerprints didn't match anyone on the system," Hemoda began.  
"And I analyzed a piece of skin that Hemoda found on the man's body. It was a match to a piece of hair on a brush Kiba brought back from Ms. Naburu's house. The brush belonged to Pahu Laona," Rukia continued.  
"But I did manage to figure out the cause of death. The man died of a heart attack," finished Hemoda, breathless.  
Sakura looked puzzled.  
"But that's not the style of the Surrealist. The cause of death couldn't have been natural."  
"It wasn't. I checked the stomach, and found traces of a poison. A poison, that if ingested, causes immense stress on the heart, and may even result in a heart attack."  
Kiba added in, "And we found a sandwich wrapper on the ground next to the bench where our John Doe was found. So, our killer took some poison, put some into the sandwich, and waited."

--

Suddenly, Shikamaru's phone rang.  
Picking it up, he listened to the voice on the other end of the line.  
Then, pressing the disconnect button, he stood up.  
"It seems that someone resembling Laona was spotted about 50 miles east, at an abandoned woodyard."

"Kiba, Sakura, you're coming with me. Hemoda, Rukia, good job. You guys stay here and try to find any more evidence."  
They nodded.  
Kiba smiled.  
"Road trip!"

---

Taking a swig of water, Shikamaru looked around at the woodyard.  
_Onnin Takasala Woodyard_, the sign read.  
"So this is the place," Kiba remarked, peering around at the abandoned hellhole.  
Shikamaru nodded.  
"Be careful. This Pahu Laona may be dangerous, so be on the watch."  
Both Kiba and Sakura nodded, and then each took out a handgun.  
Loading it, they looked over at Shikamaru.  
He upholstered two guns from his belt.  
They were dark black, with a single gold stripe running down each side.  
And a golden crane carved into the metal.  
Shikamaru loaded them, and then nodded at Kiba and Sakura.  
Readying themselves, they slowly walked into the woodyard.

--

The woodyard had been abandoned years ago as soon as the last tree in the forest fell.  
Now, the area around it was completely cleared out.  
While it had been running, the woodyard had been a busy and sweaty place.  
And now it looked like it had been inhabited once again.

---

A tall, dark figure sat in a chair in the main office of the woodyard.  
She stared at the video camera feeds displayed on the TV's in the office.  
On the screen of TV#3 were two men and a women with guns. They all had police vests and badges on.  
"The game has begun."

---

As the trio stepped into the woodyard, Shikamaru instantaneously noticed three things.  
First, the video cameras mounted everywhere.  
Next, the abundance of cranes, hooks, and machines.  
And finally, the almost-invisible wires stretched out two inches above the ground.  
But he noticed the last one too late.  
"Stop!" Shikamaru cried, but to no avail.  
Sakura had tripped over one of the wires, setting off a trap.  
Dozens of senbon and kunai flew from a hole in the wall, right towards the group.  
Jumping up, Kiba grabbed a windmill shiriken from his pack and pushed himself in the way of the projectiles.  
He opened up the giant four-leaved blade and spun it around his hand, using it as a shield.  
The blades and needles bounced off the rotating surface and dropped harmlessly to the ground.  
Breathing a sigh of relief, Kiba put the shiriken back in his pack.  
"Thank you Kiba," said Shikamaru. "We must be careful around here. There are probably traps hidden in all corners of this woodyard."  
"I'll make sure to keep an eye out for wires, but they're extremely hard to see."  
Kiba smiled.  
"I'll take care of that."  
Reaching back into his pack, Kiba pulled out a small whistle and blew on it.  
One second... two seconds...  
Then, a barking noise came from the entrance.  
A small white dog ran into the woodyard and leaped on top of Kiba's head.  
"I see Akamaru has woken up from his nap on the trip here," Sakura noted with a smile.  
Kiba whispered something into Akamaru's ear, then the small dog jumped on top of the piles of wood and began running around.  
While spraying dog piss everywhere.  
"Now we should be able to see the wires. However, I can't do anything about the smell."

--

The group carefully made their way around the woodyard, avoiding the wires.  
They only had two other incidents along the way.  
Nevertheless, all three of them were scratched up and panting heavily.

"Well, let's continue on. Pahu Laona must be around here somewhere. Be extra careful. And keep an eye out for more traps," Shikamaru told them.  
Suddenly, a storm of senbon flew towards them.  
They all managed to jump away, and the needles embedded themselves where they had been standing previously.  
Confused, Sakura looked to the floor.  
"Where did that come from? Did we set off another trap?"  
"No," Shikamaru replied, grim faced.  
He pointed to a platform above the ground.  
And the woman standing upon it.  
"Hello my friends. I have been waiting for you. What do you think of my idea for a new piece? I'm thinking of a Cerberus statue, staring you three."  
Akamaru barked.  
"Pahu Laona, you're under arrest."  
"Oh, so I'm under arrest now? How fun!"  
Shikamaru scowled.  
"But unfortunately, I'll have to take a rain check. I have a piece of art to create."  
Then, she took out more senbon and threw them.  
Shikamaru threw himself out of the way.  
When he got up again, he helped up Kiba.  
Looking around, his eyebrows narrowed.  
"Kiba, where is Sakura?"

--

"Hello, my friends," said a voice behind them.  
Shikamaru and Kiba spun around.  
"Sakura!" Kiba began to walk forward, but Shikamaru put his arm out and stopped him.  
"Wait. Look at her eyes."  
Kiba obliged, and discovered what Shikamaru was talking about.  
She had black eyes.  
"Wha? But how?"  
"Mind Body Switch Technique. The same way she took control of young Raikorou, then used his abilities to kill Zloto."  
Laona laughed a high pitched screech that hurt Shikamaru's ears.  
Or more like Sakura laughed.  
"So we have a clever one, eh?"  
"Well, I guess you could call me clever, if that's what an IQ of 200 means," Shikamaru retorted bitterly.  
She laughed again.  
"I suggest you don't try to mess with me. I'm going to bring my art to the whole world! And everyone will love it!"  
Kiba scowled.  
"You call murdering defenseless people 'art'?"  
She frowned.  
"They were nothing. Merely pawns in the game that is the real world."  
"Well, if this is a game, I think it's checkmate on you."  
Suddenly, she took a kunai out of a holder on Sakura's leg, then stabbed herself with it in the stomach.  
And Sakura fell over, blood pouring from her wound.  
"Sakura!" Kiba yelled, running forward.  
A kunai whizzed past his ear, burying itself in the wood behind him.  
Two inches closer and he would've been a goner.  
Shikamaru turned around and looked at Kiba.  
And laughed.

--

"Shit!" thought Kiba, pulling the kunai out of the wood and spinning it around his finger.  
He looked around and observed his surroundings.  
"There's nothing that can help you," said Luana in Shikamaru's body.  
Kiba smiled.  
"Maybe..." he said, not really paying attention.  
Luana's smile turned to a frown.  
"Well, if you're not going to do anything, then you might as well die!"  
She rushed him, katana in hand.  
Kiba threw his kunai at her.  
Luana deflected the kunai with one blade and sliced at Kiba with the other.  
He jumped up and swung his foot at her head.  
She ducked and turned around.  
Making hand signs, she shouted, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"  
"Crap!" Kiba yelled.  
So Luana could use her own techniques as well as Shikamaru's in his body.  
That was a twist for the worst.  
He took out senbon and threw them, piercing most of the balls of fire.  
But some of them missed, and he ended up with a burn on his leg and arm.  
Panting, he landed back on the ground.  
"Got you now!" shouted Luana, jumping at him with katana bared.  
Kiba fumbled with another kunai and tried to throw it.  
But he couldn't.  
The Luana in the air vanished in a poof of smoke.  
A shadow clone.  
"See, I told you that I got you," said a voice behind him.  
Kiba managed to turn his head to see what it was.  
Luana in Shikamaru's body, with the shadow stretched out, touching his.  
Kiba swore.  
"Now, I can dispose of you both at once," she said with an evil grin.  
Taking out a kunai, she pointed it to her chest.  
Shikamaru's chest.  
And, with no option but to, Kiba did the same.  
"You were a good opponent. But I'm afraid I'll still have to kill you and your friends nevertheless," she said.  
And then positioned the kunai towards the heart.

--

Kiba shut his eyes for the final blow.  
He couldn't bare to watch himself being controlled into a suicide.  
A tear fell from his eye and rolled down his cheek.  
Shikamaru... and Sakura... and all the other future victims...  
He couldn't save them if he couldn't save himself.  
Luana cackled.  
"Good bye, CSI freak!"  
She stabbed towards the heart.  
But was stopped.  
A small white blur jumped across the room and bit Shikamaru's arm.  
"Arf!" barked Akamaru.  
Kiba smiled.  
The dog dragged Shikamaru down to the ground, breaking the Shadow Imitation Jutsu.  
Shikamaru's head crashed to the ground, knocked him unconscious, and forced Luana back into her own body.  
Luana's body, lying on the ground on the other side of the yard, suddenly gasped for air.  
Kiba wiped the blood from his mouth, and walked over Luana.  
"Checkmate," he said.  
Placing his foot on her chest to keep her down, he took a pair of handcuffs from his pack.  
"Pahu Luana, you're under arrest. You have the right to keep silent; everything you say can and will be used against you in court..."

---

Back in Konoha, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sakura were being treated for wounds endured during their skirmish with Luana.  
Sakura needed serious treatment for her stab wound, as well as other cuts and bruises from the traps at the woodyard.  
Now she was sleeping quietly with bandages wrapped around her chest to stop further bleeding.  
Shikamaru was now reading in bed, still not discharged.  
And Kiba was keeping them both company.  
He had been released with a twisted ankle and a few minor scrapes.  
Tsunade and Naruto walked into their hospital room carrying three bowls of spicy ramen.  
"Knock knock," said Tsunade, placing the bowls on a table.  
"Thought you guys would get sick of hospital food pretty quickly, so we brought you some food that's actually edible."  
Shikamaru looked up from his book and chuckled.  
Kiba smiled.  
"I heard you saved everyone," Tsunade praised, now turned to Kiba.  
He shook his head.  
"I would've been a goner had it not been for Akamaru."  
Naruto laughed.  
"Well, if that's the case, I'll just have to buy him a nice big tin of treats. I'm sure you wouldn't object."  
Shikamaru put down his book and looked up at Tsunade.  
"When's the...operation... going to be?" he asked, coughing.  
She looked down at him.  
"Not until you recover," she said, but then added, grim faced, "but no later."  
Shikamaru nodded, and then went back to his book.  
_Shougi Strategies_.


	3. Episode Three: The Fashionista

CSI: Konoha

The Fashionista

"Okay class, sit down, sit down," said Lania Nubala, walking into her classroom.

It was filled with anxious, squirming children, ranging anywhere from 12 to 14 years of age.

She could understand why they were nervous- this was the year when their true ninja skills would be tested. It would also weed out the jokesters from the serious, the failures from the successful.

Looking out at her students, she frowned at all the kids that were chewing gum, talking, or fiddling with their baseball caps.

"Everyone! If you have gum, spit it out! If you're talking, then be quiet! And if you happen to be wearing a cap, you will receive it back at the end of class today. Bring it here."

A moan rose in the room as about half a dozen boys slowly walked up to Ms. Nubala, placed their hats on her desk, and went back to their seats.

Satisfied, she sat down, took out a pencil, and began to take attendance. As her gaze swept over the room, she noticed a disturbance.

A disturbance named Juloni Bayru. The other teachers hard warned her about him- about his non-existing homework habits, his disrespect towards teachers, and his careless attitude towards learning. And here he was, in her classroom, a cap on his head and chatting loudly to someone who wasn't really listening.

"Bayru!" she barked.

He looked up, a frown on his face. He didn't like it when people interrupted him.

"Hat. Now. Then you're moving up to the front row, where I can keep an eye on you."

Bayru did nothing. Sitting in his chair, he glared up at Ms. Nubala.

"Now! I mean it!" Whipping out a kunai, she pointed it at him. She rarely lost her temper like this, but with someone like Juloni Bayru, you couldn't do anything less.

He scrambled out of his seat, dropped his hat on her desk, and then ran back to his desk.

Smirking, she picked up the hat and examined it. Ugly piece of filth. She threw it back on the desk. It clanked.

Ms. Nubala did a retake. Hats weren't supposed to clank.

She picked it up again. _Wait_, she thought, _why was it ticking? Hats were not supposed to tick either!_

_--- _

Kiba and Sakura were already at the scene when Shikamaru arrived. They were discussing what had happened with the other investigators.

Turning around, Kiba briefed Shikamaru on the incident.

"During the school day, in the classroom. Teacher confiscates hat from student, hat blows up in her hand. We have 25 eye-witnesses."

"An explosion? What was the damage? Is the teacher still alive?"

"Yeah, weird. Damage was minimal. Found enough of the scorch marks on the desk to determine how it was created. The teacher, Lania Nubala, will be fine. However, both her arms got burnt to the point that they are unusable. They had to be amputated."

Sakura now turned around and walked over towards Shikamaru and Kiba.

"But what's the motive? Why would someone want to kill a teacher?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "They didn't want to hurt the teacher. The target was the kid. It was his hat, and the hat had the explosive. What the person didn't count for, however, was that Ms. Nubala would take the hat away from our Juloni Bayru."

Kiba nodded. "A mix-up that almost caused a teacher her life."

"I want to talk with this almost-victim. I need to find out why someone would want to kill him."

"I tell you, I don't know nothing!" cried out Bayru, pounding his fists down on the interrogation table. "Never done a thing to anyone!"

Shikamaru picked up the green folder labeled "Juloni Bayru" and opened it. "Hmm… well, it seems that you've actually done a bit more than nothing. Vandalism, vandalism, aha! An assault… more vandalism… Looks like you've made quite a name for yourself. And kid," Shikamaru said, staring him in the eye, "a name is the last thing you want to make yourself in this business."

Bayru leaned back in his chair. "Look, I don't know anyone who would want to get rid of me."

"No one? A person who may hold a grudge? A kid you harmed in the past?"

"Hey, you're the cop. You figure it out. That's what you're paid for."

Shikamaru frowned, and then waved his hand. "You're free to go."

Bayru got up out of his chair, took a stick of gum from his pocket, and dropped it into his mouth. Blowing a bubble, he walked out of the room.

"Why would someone want to kill Bayru?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know. That's what I was asking him about," Shikamaru replied, sipping a cup of coffee.

"I'll go sweep the classroom for more evidence," Sakura offered.

"And I'll get a warrant to sweep his house," said Kiba.

"Good, good. I have paperwork to fill out. Call me if you get anything."

"Got it!" the two said in unison.

---

Slapping on plastic gloves, Sakura opened the door to the classroom. Ducking under the yellow police line, she looked around the crime scene.

The room looked no different from any other classroom, besides the obvious disarray of chairs, desks, and papers. The students, frightened by the explosion, would have jumped from their chairs and gone over to their injured teacher.

She walked over to the teacher's desk and examined it. There were scorch marks on the wood surface, from when the small bomb detonated. Taking out a swab, Sakura ran it over the scorched area. The guys back at the lab could tell her what kind of bomb the hat was.

Placing the swab in an evidence bag, she bent down to examine the papers on the floor. Math worksheets, ninja technique cheat sheets, assignment books; the usual school junk. However, one particular piece of paper caught her attention. Mixed in with the schoolwork was a diagram of a hat with a bomb in it. Taking out a magnifying glass, she looked at it more closely. It was complex, too complex for a 13-year old. Scientific equations were scribbled in the margins.

Sighing, Sakura placed the paper in an evidence bag, and then dialed her cell phone for Shikamaru.

---

Kiba knocked on the door of the Juloni household for the umpteenth time. The lights were on, and he was beginning to get suspicious. Akamaru was becoming impatient.

Taking a kunai from his pouch, Kiba slipped it into the key hole and jiggled it a big until he heard a click. Satisfied, he turned the handle.

Akamaru ran into the house first, sniffed the air, and then ran into the kitchen. Kiba looked around the mess of a living space for some evidence. Finding none in the living room, he began walking through the house.

Akamaru began barking like crazy from another room. Kiba took off running towards his dog's voice. When Akamaru started yapping, there usually was something wrong. Skidding into the kitchen doorway, he looked down at the floor. There was Akamaru, standing over a man's body.

Kiba placed his ear over the man's heart, listening for a heartbeat. Finding none, he put his hand over the man's mouth. No breath. He began pushing on the chest, hoping to get the guy to breathe again. No dice. Applying CPR and all the other medical skills he had learned, Kiba attempted to save the man.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, "Call paramedics! We need to get this man to the hospital quick!"

The dog stared at him with his tongue hanging from his mouth.

"Why the heck am I telling you? You're a dog!"

Taking out his phone, Kiba dialed for an ambulance.

---

"Poison," stated Myco Hemoda, back at the morgue.

Shikamaru looked puzzled. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Positive. When I took off the clothes, I noticed a small puncture wound on the man's right foot. I checked the shoe, and there was a small needle ball in it, small enough to not be seen, but large enough to penetrate the skin."

"Well, if the man was poisoned, there must have been something on the ball," concluded Shikamaru.

"Dexedrine solution. When injected into the bloodstream, it has been known to cause heart attacks. I took out the heart, and there were obvious signs of a cardiac arrest."

Shikamaru stared at the body lying on the cold metal surface. "Do we have identification?"

"Yeah…" Hemoda said, leafing through the papers on his desk. "Here we go- Juloni Sanito."

"Bayru's father. And I bet that these two attacks were connected."

Hemoda put on his glasses. "There's still more to do. I have to register this guy in the computer, plus there's all this paperwork to fill out."

Shikamaru smiled. "Okay, sounds good. Give me a call if you find anything else."

And with that, he walked out of the room.

Sakura looked over the shoulder of Marakuni Rukia as she entered data into the computer. She was anxious to see if Rukia could figure out how the explosion was caused.

"Sakura, if you want me to do this, I'm going to have to ask you to stop hovering over me. Thanks."

She moved out of the way, looked at her watch, and then glanced back at Rukia.

"Anything yet?" Sakura asked, anxious.

Rukia glared at her, and then looked back at the computer. "Well, I actually found a composite of electrons in the scorch sample. My guess is that the bomb was electronically activated, meaning it could've been extremely small and hidden within the hat."

Sakura nodded. "Thanks. Call me if you get anything else"

"Sure thing"

---

"Okay, that will be... $4.95…"

Shikamaru reached into his wallet and pulled out a five dollar bill.

Thanking the cashier, he took the bowl of spicy ramen and looked for a seat.

Although it was only 11:30, Ichiraku Ramen Shop was packed full of hungry customers.

Luckily, he discovered the only open table. Naruto's table.

Since Naruto was a regular at the ramen shop, people knew to avoid him when he was hungry. That way, they wouldn't get hit by the sauce and noodle shrapnel that flew through the air around him.

Glancing at Naruto's bowl, Shikamaru determined that the shrapnel would cease soon, so he pulled a chair up to the table. Taking out some chopsticks, he began eating his ramen silently.

After scoffing down the pork ramen, Naruto swigged some water and looked up at the man on the other side of the table.

"Hey Shika! What's up?" he asked.

Shikamaru swallowed the mouthful of noodle, and then pulled out a paper from his backpack.

Naruto took it and looked it over carefully.

"Hmm… a killer that attacks through clothes. Interesting…"

"Yeah. The first victim was an accident; the intended victim was a kid. And the second victim was that kid's father."

Naruto thought this over. "So, there is a potential link between these."

Shikamaru nodded. "It's stumping us, though."

He went back to eating his ramen.

Naruto sat staring at the paper for a few more minutes, then placed it back on the table.

Shikamaru wiped the sauce from his mouth, and then asked the question that both of them were wondering.

"How… how are Hinata and the others doing?"

Naruto sighed. "Not bad, but no better."

"We really need to that surgery, don't we?"

Naruto nodded. "You're in the middle of a case, though. We'll do it after you've wrapped this thing up."

"Okay…" Shikamaru replied.

He went back to his ramen, eating in silence.

---

Scratching down notes on a piece of paper, Sakura sat in a chair in a hospital room.

The patient in that room was Lania Nubala.

"… and that's all I remember," Lania concluded.

Sakura scratched down a few more sentences, then spotted Kiba in the doorway.

"Okay, take care, and get better soon. If I need anything else, I'll come back," she said.

Standing up, she walked out of the room, and then greeted Kiba.

"How is she doing?" asked Kiba.

"Not bad. Wounds are healing, and the pain is beginning to fade. She will be getting replacement mechanical arms soon."

"That's good…" Kiba said absentmindedly. He glanced at Sakura.

She raised her eyebrow. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

He handed her a piece of paper. She curiously looked it over.

"What is this?"

He pointed to a list of numbers on the right side.

"A will. The will, in fact, of the recently deceased Juloni Mao."

Sakura stared at him.

"Juloni Mao? I remember reading about him in the paper. He was a gang boss in a gang outside of the city. Brought in a bunch of cash, and all of it illegal."

"Exactly, that's the guy. He died of a heart attack, or at least that's what the authorities said," Kiba told her.

"But most likely he got poisoned. So what do you think? Gang revenge?"

"Most likely. In the mean time, stay safe. And be careful while trying on shoes," Kiba warned, winking.

---

Two dark figures raced across the Konoha streets. The rain pounded on the ground like hammers, but it did not deter them.

Jumping on to the roof of a flower shop, the first figure dashed across the tops of buildings, attempting to flee his pursuer.

The second withdrew two small orbs and threw them in front of the first man. The two orbs glowed a green light for a few seconds, and then shot out metal shrapnel in a bright flash of fire.

A piece of metal struck the first man in the back, and he fell down, yelling in pain. His body rolled off a roof and struck the wet concrete.

Catching up to the limp body, the second man put his head on the chest. Satisfied that the man was still alive, even if barely, he took out a belt from his pack.

He fastened the belt around the man's waist, then pushed a small button on the side.

The small metal box began to buzz.

Picking up the body, the man brought it over to a chair and sat the body down in it.

Satisfied with his work, he turned away and smiled.

---

Shikamaru made his way through the crowd gathered on the street.

Approaching the police line, he took off his sunglasses, flashed his badge, then ducked under the yellow tape.

The body was sprawled on the ground in the middle of the road. A police officer finished up tracing the outline in chalk, then stood up. Shikamaru went over to him.

"Hmm… what was the cause of death?" Shika asked.

The police officer lighted a cigarette, and then offered it to Shikamaru.

"No, I don't smoke. It'll kill ya," he declined.

The officer put away his lighter, and popped the cigarette in his mouth. "Yeah, well, it sure is good now. Anyways, we believe that the victim was killed by means of this weird belt around his waist."

"A belt, huh?" Shikamaru replied, curious. He bent down to examine the body.

A medic came over to take the body to the morgue.

"May I examine the belt?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sure, knock yourself out," replied the medic, placing the body on a stretcher.

Shikamaru carefully took the belt off of the body, and then turned away from the sun to examine it.

The belt was nothing special- black leather with a metal band, just a normal belt. Shikamaru turned it over in his hand and spotted something unusual. There was a small button on the side of the metal.

Glancing up, Shikamaru looked around.

A dark face in the crowd glared back at him.

Shikamaru blinked, and then squinted at the person, but the man disappeared back into the crowd.

Placing the belt in an evidence bag, then placing the bag into his backpack, Shikamaru ducked back under the tape.

He began to walk back towards the crime lab. A few kids ran in front of him, and a small boy crashed into him.

"Oops, my apologies…" Shikamaru began.

"Here, mister, the guy over there told me to give this to you," the boy told him, pointing into the crowd.

"Uh… thanks… which guy was this?" he asked.

The boy pointed.

Shikamaru followed the kid's finger.

It was the man from before, staring back with dark eyes.

Shikamaru glanced at the note that the kid placed in his hand, and then looked back up.

Both the boy and the strange man had disappeared.

Sighing, he opened the envelope and stared at the letter inside with disbelief.

_Mr. Nara, I ask you to immediately drop all investigations. This business is private between me and the Juloni's. If you insist in furthering this, I will be forced to go into action. I believe that you would rather have a few guilty souls killed quietly than your entire squadron murdered publicly. This said, if the investigations do not cease in 48 hours, I will commence the destruction of the crime lab, as well as all those unfortunate enough to be inside it. Best regards. _

Shikamaru ran back to the CSI lab, the note still gripped in his hand.

---

He still couldn't believe it. A single man, to invade a building full of police. It was preposterous, a suicide attempt.

Suddenly, Shikamaru stopped. _What if this wasn't a lone job? What if this was something larger?_ he thought.

Glancing down at the note, he turned over the piece of paper. On the back was stamped a simple image, but it sent chills down Shikamaru's spine nevertheless.

A wolf with three scars running down its face. The insignia of the mafia.

His mind suddenly flashed back, looking down on news articles and TV reports. Civilians killed, money stolen, with that same mark left at every scene.

_I'm not dealing with a crazy man anymore, _thought Shikamaru, _I'm up against the whole mafia._

Bursting through the crime lab doors, he sprinted down the hall towards his office.

Already there were Sakura and Kiba.

"Mafia!" they all shouted together.

Shikamaru stared. "How do you guys know?"

"When I was exiting the house," explained Kiba, "I noticed a strange marking on the door. I took a picture of it, and then ran it through the database."

Shikamaru held up the back of the letter. "Does it look anything like this?" he asked.

Kiba nodded. "That's exactly it. How did you get it?"

Shikamaru looked worried. "The mafia contacted me. If we don't drop investigations, they will destroy the crime lab, with all the people inside."

"Then what do we do?" inquired Sakura.

"I… I don't know."

---

Naruto dropped by the crime labs a couple of times the following week. However, noticing the mood of the team, he decided to leave them alone.

Shikamaru spent many hours at his desk and on the computer, researching the mafia and possible links to the murders.

Sakura and Kiba practiced their ninja techniques together, working up their abilities in the case of a full-on battle.

Pacing back and fourth in his office, Shikamaru glanced up at the calendar.

**September 14****th**, it read. It had been a week since he had received the note.

He picked up his jacket and began walking towards the evidence room. On the way there, he stuck his head inside the weapons room, and, spotting Kiba and Sakura, he gestured to them.

"Anyone up for some ramen?" he asked cheerfully.

They nodded. Putting away the kunai they were practicing with, they jogged over to Shikamaru.

"Okay, just let me get something, then we'll be on our way," he told them.

"Sure thing," they replied, as Shikamaru opened the door to the evidence room.

Turning the key, he swung open the door, grabbed a bag from a drawer labeled "The Fashionista", and then closed everything up again.

Kiba pointed towards the evidence room. "What was that for?"

Shikamaru smiled. "Just a little something. Here, let's go. Ichiraku Ramen is way overdue for a visit from us."

The three sat down at a table in the ramen shop- Kiba with his veggie ramen, Sakura with beef noodles, and Shikamaru with a bowl of spicy Sichuan chicken and noodles. It was relatively quiet, rare for such a popular restaurant.

Eating their dishes in silence, the three gazed off into the distance, caught up in their own thoughts.

Finally, Sakura broke the silence. "Why did you bring us here?"

Shikamaru smiled. "What, a guy can't take two of his friends out for lunch?"

Kiba shook his head. "No. Why did you bring us here?"

Sighing, Shikamaru replied, "First of all, that lab is beginning to get to me. I needed to escape from it for a bit."

Sakura nodded. "It happens to all of us. The death and crime, it really starts to affect the mind."

"But truly," Shikamaru continued, "I wanted to talk to you about this."

He took from his pocket the mafia note, sealed in an airtight bag.

"We can't just do nothing," Kiba said though a mouthful of ramen.

"No, that's not an option. But we must be careful. I don't know how much power or intelligence the mafia has, but in any case, we still don't want them against us."

Sakura nodded. "So you brought us here to discuss this. But why?"

Shikamaru explained, "I believe that the crime lab may be bugged, so our privacy there is jeopardized. And here, at Ichiraku Ramen, the three of us are regulars, so nothing will be thought of if someone sees us talking."

Kiba placed his bowl on the ground next to his chair. Akamaru woke up from where he was lying under the table, sniffed the air, then ran over to lick the sauce.

"Just in case," Kiba said, "I'll have Akamaru patrol the shop for anyone or anything suspicious."

Picking up the white dog, he whispered something into Akamaru's ear. The rambunctious mutt jumped on to the floor and ran out of the shop.

"So, what do you think?" inquired Sakura.

Shikamaru fiddled with the note. "Well, we can't just sit around and do nothing. But we've already established that."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, but what about the threat? You know, the whole 'mafia will come destroy the crime lab' thing?"

"That's sort of deterring," noted Sakura.

"Well, first we need to figure out the 'why' part," Shikamaru stated.

Kiba sipped his cup of tea. "We know that Juloni Mao died recently, leaving behind a large sum of cash and valuables. And the first in line to that inheritance was…"

"… Juloni Sonito!" continued Sakura. "And he, conveniently, was murdered, leaving…"

"… young Bayru to inherit the money," Shikamaru finished. "And there was an attempt on his life. Unfortunately, we can't intervene to make sure he's safe, or else we'll have the mafia after us."

Kiba looked down at the table. "This is quite a situation we're in, eh?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, but let's get back to the discussion. The only reason someone would try to eliminate all other people in an inheritance line… is if they wanted to inherit it themselves."

"Juloni Köln," said Shikamaru quietly.

Kiba and Sakura turned their heads toward him.

"Who?" they said together.

He looked up at his two teammates. "Juloni Köln, the younger son of Sonito. Third in line for the inheritance. He went missing, and I'll wager a bowl of ramen that he went off to make his own mafia gang."

Kiba nodded, understanding it now. "So he's trying to kill off his competition. Then, he can take the inheritance and do what he wants with it. And in order to do this, he's using his own mafia gang as backup."

Suddenly, Akamaru ran into the shop, barking. The dog jumped onto the table, pointing his head towards the street.

Shikamaru, Sakura, and Kiba stared out the window, watching the scene outside with horrified interest.

A dozen dark figures slowly walked towards the shop. Many had kunai or shuriken, and the leader held small tablets in his hand.

The man in front flicked a tablet up into the air, towards the restaurant window.

"Everyone, get down!" shouted Shikamaru.

There was a bright flash of light, then an ear-splitting noise.

When the smoke cleared, the wall was completely destroyed.

The mafia was coming.

---

"We have to get out of here," cried Sakura.

Shikamaru looked around. "Let's get these people out first."

Kiba nodded, then climbed up on to a chair. "Everyone, the shop must be evacuated immediately. We are the police. There is a threat approaching. Please flee. It is for your own good."

The few customers in Ichiraku Ramen stood up, grabbed their stuff, and then hurried out the back door. Meanwhile, approaching mafia grew closer.

Sakura and Kiba looked to Shikamaru. "What now?" they asked.

He put his hands on his head, rubbing his temples. His eyes closed, and the gears in his 200-IQ mind began to turn.

Finally, after a few moments, he looked up again. "We split up, and head for the crime lab. There, we can put up a better fight. However, make sure to throw plenty of kunai, senbon, and explosives into the group. That will create a diversion, making it easier on us."

They nodded. Time to let hell loose.

Kiba took a small biscuit from his pack and fed it to Akamaru. "Ready, boy?"

Akamaru barked, and the two ran out the back door, looping around towards the right.

Sakura took out two kunai, grasped them in her left hand, and then nodded to Shikamaru.

He nodded back, and watched as she too pushed open the back entrance, but looped to the left.

Slowly, Shikamaru unsheathed his two swords, testing their sharpness. Satisfied, he placed one in his mouth, the other in his left hand, and took out a small orb with his right.

He ran out the back door like his two comrades, but then jumped onto the roof of the shop.

Someone in the mafia crowd shouted something, and all the ninjas turned their gaze on to Shikamaru.

He tried to smile, but couldn't, as he had a sword in his mouth.

Throwing the orb towards the crowd, he leaped into the air. The orb exploded, creating a cloud of smoke, screening Shikamaru from the view of the mob.

Landing at the edge of the crowd, he slashed his way to the clearing, and then jumped on to another building.

Soaring from rooftop to rooftop, he mentally created a plan for the battle looming ahead.

---

Sakura and Kiba were waiting at the crime lab when Shikamaru arrived. Both were preparing weapons for the upcoming battle ahead.

"Okay, here's the situation," Shikamaru briefed them. "We have the whole of the mafia on our tail. They are angry, armed, and organized. We are few, but we are strong. Any suggestions?"

Kiba raised his hand. "I have contacted a few people who will be helpful. They should be arriving soon."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Our weapon supply is plentiful- kunai, senbon, a few katana, as well as explosive and ninja scrolls. I've taken a good amount of the weapons and supplies, including first aid materials, into a secure room. We have total access to everything," informed Sakura.

"Good, good…" Shikamaru said, pacing around the room. "And what about security?"

"Akamaru is guarding the front. Two barks if it's someone friendly, three if it's not," Kiba told him, testing the sharpness of his kunai. Satisfied, he placed all the knives in a pouch, close to hand.

"And I've secured all other entrances but the front," stated Sakura. "The only way for the enemy attack us is through the front, and we'll be well prepared for that."

"You've done well. I'll be in my office. Call me if you need me," Shikamaru told them.

On his way there, he stopped at a vending machine. Placing a dollar in the slot, he pressed the button for a Coke. It dropped down from the chute, and Shikamaru picked it up. Unscrewing the cap, he took a long drink. He would be thankful for the caffeine later.

Walking into his office, Shikamaru placed the soda bottle on the desk and sat down. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind and chakra. He never enjoyed killing, but sometimes it was necessary.

Opening an eye, he stared at a black framed photograph on his desk. It was taken long ago, a memorabilia of happier times.

The picture was of him and Temari sitting upon Shikamaru's favorite rooftop, staring up at the clouds. Temari looked so beautiful. Oh, how long had it been since she was alive?

Suddenly, he jumped out of his seat. Robyn! Where was she?

Sprinting through the halls of the place at which he had worked for so many years, Shikamaru was concerned only with the safety of his daughter.

As he skidded into the entrance hall, he noticed four figures who hadn't been there before.

Naruto and Rock Lee were leaning against a wall, while Neji and Tenten sat on a couch.

"Reinforcements have arrived!" shouted Naruto.

Shikamaru could only smile.

---

Turning to Naruto, Shikamaru spoke his fears. "Wh… where is Robyn?"

Naruto patted him on the back. "Don't worry. Hinata has gone to her parents' house, and taken Robyn with her. She's in good hands."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Looking around, Shikamaru addressed all the ninja gathered around. "We're in over our heads here, but we can't give up. The whole of the Konoha mafia is on our trail, and you can bet that they're headed here."

He turned towards Neji and Lee, saying, "You two will help hold the front. Use the building to your advantage."

They nodded, picked up their weapons, and prepared to leave.

"Wait," cried Sakura, running down the hall towards them.

Everyone looked up at her, puzzled.

She held up small black boxes in the air. "We might need to talk with each other. I found them in the supply room."

Shikamaru nodded, reaching out to take one. Everyone else followed suit.

As they placed on the headsets and microphones, Akamaru ran into the room, barking madly. He ran up to Kiba, bit his pant leg, and then turned to the door.

"The mafia is at our doorstep," Kiba said, picking up his dog.

Shikamaru smiled. "Let's give them a warm welcome, shall we?"

---

Tenten raced up to the second level of the building. Setting down her pack, she took out her weapons and supplies, organizing them. Then, she took furniture and made a barricade on the wall, giving her some moderate protection.

Downstairs, Shikamaru and Naruto were scrambling around, attempting to set up some sort of shield. They placed scrolls at strategic places around the room, attempting to make their barrier as large and powerful as possible.

Sakura strapped on her gloves, and took out two kunai. Neji took off his headband and tied his hair back so it wouldn't get in the way. Kiba held out his hand to Akamaru, a small pill resting on his palm. The white dog sniffed it, and then licked it up. Rock Lee punched the air, pumping up his already-high adrenaline.

Suddenly, the building shook, like it had been struck by an earthquake.

"What the…" shouted Sakura, staggering to keep her balance.

Neji stared out towards the approaching mob. "Byakugan!" he yelled. His eyes searched the front, scanning for activity. "It seems like they're trying to break through the door. But I doubt they'll destroy the barrier any time soon."

Akamaru began barking.

"Something's not right…" Kiba muttered, turning to Neji. "Does anything seem… out of place?"

"Hmm…" Neji said, looking once again outside. "Actually, now that you mention it, I don't see too many ninja."

Rock Lee laughed. "Haha, those cowards! Running away at the first sight of…argh!"

The force of the explosion was enough to knock everyone off their feet. At the back of the building, mafia ninja had snuck around and planted explosives, completely destroying the rear wall.

And suddenly, they were in a whole load of shit.

Shikamaru sparred with three at once, his gold blades overpowering their kunai. Hurtling them down, he killed with a senbon to the throat, then turned around.

Attempting to take in the scene around him, Shikamaru took a deep breath.

Over half of the enemy had snuck around to the back end, and as a result, dozens upon dozens of angry ninja were now inside the CSI building. A small group of the mafia was still huddled outside, doing who knows what.

"Fuck off," muttered Sakura, as she punched a ninja in the face and went on to go after more.

Naruto and Neji were back-to-back, fists flying and kunai slashing. Kiba and Akamaru had a nice strategy going- the dog holding down an enemy and Kiba finishing them off.

Unfortunately, the quarters were just too close and the atmosphere too frantic to pull of any jutsu, so the team was forced to keep with martial arts and weapons.

Tenten's face appeared at the top of the staircase, filled with worry. "Shikamaru! They're planting more explosives around the building! I think they plan to blow it up!"

Shikamaru swore under his breath. Stabbing a ninja through the stomach, then spinning around to slash another, he looked up towards her. "Do you think you could…?"

Tenten smiled, saying, "I'd be happy to, just let me give you a quick hand here."

With that, she took from her pocket a small metal ball and tossed it into a crowd of enemy ninja. It flashed red for a few seconds, and then detonated, spraying small needles into the air.

Hurrying up the staircase, Tenten grabbed a few scrolls, a pack of kunai, and a hurricane shuriken, and then leaped out the second floor window.

Downstairs, the enemy was beginning to thin out. Many had fled from the scene, scars and broken bones as memoriam to the battle that day.

Everyone was struggling to keep up their strength. Shikamaru hosted a large cut on his leg. Kiba sprained his ankle, and Akamaru could barely stand up, exhausted as he was. Sakura and Neji both sustained a bad wound from a storm of senbon thrown earlier. Naruto nursed a burn wound on his arm, a present from a stray bomb.

Suddenly, the building shook again. Another wall had been destroyed.

The ceiling began to collapse. Without the support from the building's walls, it couldn't support itself. Slowly, the CSI building was being destroyed, from the outside-in.

Felling the last mafia ninja, Shikamaru took a look around at the premises. A few enemies lay dead or unconscious on the ground. Most had fled the scene as soon as they realized that they were no match for Shika's elite team.

Glancing down the hall, he noticed a dark figure, standing in a doorway.

Blades in hand, Shikamaru carefully walked towards the person. Raising his sword, he prepared to swing down and finish off the threat.

"I would not do that," murmured the figure, turning around. A black hood obstructed the man's face, but the voice seemed familiar. Somewhere… Shikamaru had heard that same voice… somewhere…

"Give up!" shouted Shikamaru over the sounds of the crumbling building.

"This war has just begun," said the man. He threw onto to the ground a small bomb. It ticked twice, and then exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Coughing, Shikamaru ran out of the room. He entered again the main area and helped his friends to their feet.

Exhausted and badly wounded, everyone looked to him for instructions.

"The mountain," Shikamaru told them, protecting his head from the falling rubble.

Slowly, all the ninja made their way outside, then away from the building. Naruto and Neji led the way, with Kiba following, holding Akamaru. Rock Lee picked up Tenten and headed to safety.

Shikamaru took a final look at the building in which he had made his career. So many memories- cases solved, criminals arrested, families comforted. Many tears had been shed in this building, and now it was being destroyed.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, he too ran for the mountain.

---

The cold air blew through Shikamaru's hair as he stepped on to the summit of the mountain. Gazing around, he noticed that everyone had arrived safely.

He walked over to where Tenten's body was resting on the hard ground. His eyes opened wide, and a gasp escaped from his lips.

"She was like this when we found her," explained Rock Lee, who was sitting on a nearby rock.

Tenten was covered in scrapes and bruises, and her left arm was covered in dry blood. But that's not what was so surprising.

Five senbon jutted out of her body - one through each lung, one through each palm, and one through her stomach.

Shikamaru whipped his head around, sweat now apparent on his face. He took a quick head count, then looked up in horror.

"Wh… where is Sakura?"


End file.
